Traditional Hymn - Joy to the World

 

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Rating:

Theological Correctness:  5/5

Use of Group Pronouns:   5/5
Focus on Victory:             5/5
The Lordship of God:       5/5
Musicality:                        5/5

Total:                                 5/5

Please read the details about our rating standard here!

Lyrics:

Joy to the world! The Lord is come
Let earth receive her King!
Let every heart prepare His room
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven, and heaven and nature sing

Joy to the world! the Savior reigns
Let men their songs employ
While fields and floods
Rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat the sound joy

No more let sin and sorrow grow
Nor thorns infest the ground
He comes to make
His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found
Far as the curse is found
Far as, far as the curse is found

He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of His love
And wonders of is love
And wonders and wonders of His love

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Wow!  That's all I can say.  My eyes were really opened to this song after reading the works of New Testament scholar N.T. Wright.

N.T. Wright shares my conviction as for the importance of such music, and in one of his books he mentioned that Joy to the World was one of the best, if not the best hymn we have out there in this regard.

Joy to the World was written by Isaac Watts in 1719 and is based off Psalm 98.

Theological Correctness:

New Creation, the marriage of heaven and earth on the last day.  Everything restored to the way it was meant to be since the Garden of Eden.  This is the final destiny for all created order, and this song nails it!

Use of Group Pronouns:

Not much to point out on this one specifically, but the implication is definitely there:

Let men (sometimes written all) their songs employ...

And makes the nations prove

Focus on Victory:

Need I say more?

The Lordship of God:

Any song that refers to God as "King" and less imply a "cuddle bug daddy God" is definitely a step in the right direction.  As we've briefly mentioned before, God was understood by the ancients to be in the position of a king or a patron, and even when referred to as a father never had that context.  I'm not saying God can't be like that, but it is ethnocentric to read that view into the text.  So when we celebrate God as "King", I feel that is the more contextual role to give God.

Musicality:

What Christian out there doesn't like sacred Christmas hymns?  This song is amazing musically and lyrically.

Thus, I am happy to approve Joy to the World and give it a perfect score of 5/5! 

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